Tight race in Narva a year out from 2025 local elections
With a year to go until Estonia's next local elections, Narva is headed for a tight race in October 2025, with four political forces determining the outcome and no landslide victory for any one electoral list in sight.
One of the frontrunners in the Narva elections is the Center Party. The party currently holds a third of seats on Narva City Council and more than half of the positions in the ruling group, but even that won't guarantee an election victory.
"Time has passed, I suppose, and a lot has changed," acknowledged Tarmo Tammiste, deputy chair of the Center Party's Narva chapter. "But I think we could be the ones to start negotiating with partners to form a coalition."
It is yet unclear whether Center will be running under its own banner or as part of an electoral alliance next fall.
Likewise working on forming an electoral alliance is Narva ex-mayor and longtime Center opponent Katri Raik (SDE). An alliance is what won her group the previous local elections in 2021, and the plan is to use the same tactic next year as well.
"My position, of course, is as a group, because you can't achieve anything here by yourself," Raik explained. "This merging is underway, and the first meetings have already taken place. Eesti 200 and the Social Democrats have joined forces, and we're inviting others [to join us] as well."
Certain to run under its own banner is the party KOOS, which achieved strong results in Narva in this spring's Riigikogu elections. The party's number one candidate Aivo Peterson is currently on trial, however Russian citizens who are permanent residents are eligible to vote in Estonia's local elections.
"We have big plans for the local elections, because we can't let the people down," said Olga Timofejeva, a member of the board of KOOS' Narva chapter. "Those who aren't afraid will join us. Right now, we're working with voters, talking to people. I believe we'll achieve a much better result than the last one."
ETV news broadcast "Aktuaalne kaamera" was unable to reach Mihhail Stalnuhhin, who was kicked out of the Center Party in 2022, for comment regarding his candidacy.
"He'll likely form his own list," Tammiste said. "So, it will be these four forces that will decide the matter between them. But it's unlikely that any one of them will manage to earn more than half of the seats; that's highly unlikely."
In the previous local government elections in 2021, Narva saw a voter turnout of just 46 percent of its 45,000 eligible voters.
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Editor: Merili Nael, Aili Vahtla
